Category: Belgium
Belgium to introduce tax loss carryback, recovery reserve in response to pandemic
Belgium comes up with more measures to counteract COVID-19 pandemic. ... - Continue reading
Belgium gets more aggressive on tax evaders
Belgium toughens up following proclamation of 'black money'. ... - Continue reading
EU Commission to investigate 39 Belgium “excess profit” tax rulings for potential State aid violations
The European Commission today announced that it has opened 39 in-depth investigations to assess whether Belgian “excess profit” tax rulings granted to multinationals between 2005 and 2014 provided benefits that are contrary to EU State aid rules. ... - Continue reading
British citizens born in America face having bank accounts frozen
Tens of thousands of British citizens born in the US but only lived there for a few months or years face having their bank accounts frozen as part of a crackdown by the US tax authorities. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is ordering British banks to hand over the… – Continue reading
Former Belgian commissioner De Gucht loses appeal against tax ruling
Karel De Gucht, former federal minister and European commissioner, has lost a legal battle with the tax authorities over what they claimed was tax evasion. The tribunal of first instance in Ghent was ruling on a dispute between De Gucht and his wife Mireille Schreurs on one side, and the… – Continue reading
EU Report Calls For Finance Authorities, AML Oversight
European Union lawmakers released a report on Wednesday (Feb. 27) recommending that the EU create a police unit dedicated to the investigation of tax and financial crimes, as well as a watchdog organization to fight money-laundering, according to a report by Reuters. The report, which is the result of a… – Continue reading
EU Report Calls For Finance Authorities, AML Oversight
European Union lawmakers released a report on Wednesday (Feb. 27) recommending that the EU create a police unit dedicated to the investigation of tax and financial crimes, as well as a watchdog organization to fight money-laundering, according to a report by Reuters. The report, which is the result of a… – Continue reading
UBS faces a fine of up to €5.3bn over tax fraud allegations
The Swiss bank is on trial in France for its role in a tax evasion scandal Swiss bank UBS Group could be forced to pay up to €5.3bn in fines over allegations that it helped wealthy French clients conceal money from tax authorities. The double-pronged lawsuit has been brought against… – Continue reading
PenSam to step up scrutiny of partners as €55bn tax scandal unfolds
The head of one of Denmark’s biggest pension funds has spoken out to condemn a wide-scale tax fraud uncovered by a media investigation. Danish national broadcaster DR, newspaper Politiken and other European media outlets in the last three months have published articles detailing a withholding tax scam – dubbed ‘Cum-Ex’… – Continue reading
TAX MATTERS | THE TAXATION OF COMPANIES IN MACAU – WORLDWIDE OR TERRITORIAL BASIS? (CONT.)
Our previous article about the taxable basis for the taxation of companies in the Macau territory made reference to the fact that the courts in Macau, notably the Court of Second Instance (TSI) and the Tax Administration, do not seem to share the same view regarding income considered as the… – Continue reading
Pharmaceutical giants named and shamed in tax avoidance investigation
Four pharmaceutical giants have been named and shamed for depriving Australia of $215 million a year in tax avoidance. Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD Australia), and Abbott – which make household name brands like Band Aid, Baby Oil, Centrum and ChapStick –were found to have unfairly… – Continue reading
Membership Fee and Contribution Received by IZA Belgium from the Indian members not Taxable in India: AAR [Read Order]
The New Delhi Bench of the Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR) in the application filed by International Zinc Association held that membership fee and contribution from members received by the applicant from the Indian members would not be liable to Income-tax in India under the provisions of the Income Tax… – Continue reading
Belgian tax payers scared of bank accounts abroad
The holding of bank accounts and life insurances abroad follows a downward trend, reported La Libre Belgique on Saturday, based on figures from the federal tax administration. According to tax returns, the decrease since 2015 is around 5 to 10% for accounts abroad, life insurance and offshore construction. “It’s quite… – Continue reading
OECD Releases More Transfer Pricing Country Guides
The OECD has published new transfer pricing country profiles for Australia, China, Estonia, France, Georgia, Hungary, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Uruguay, bringing the number of such overviews published by the OECD to 44. The profiles explain the current transfer pricing legislation and practices of each country…. – Continue reading
Bitfinex denies links to Colombian drug money
Assets seized by Polish police are reportedly linked to the cryptocurrency exchange’s account in the country. Following a couple of days of rumours, Bitfinex – currently the fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange based on volume, according to Coinmarketcap – has been moved to deny it is embroiled in an investigation regarding… – Continue reading
Tax havens: Belgium less transparent on exchange of information
Belgium’s rating has deteriorated with regard to the exchange of information needed in the fight against tax havens, according to the latest peer review report by the Global Forum on Transparency within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Belgium is now “largely compliant” with international… – Continue reading
Brussels raises new 3% tax on technology sales
The assessment to companies like Google, Facebook or Apple would raise 5 billion a year Google, Facebook and Apple have specialized in locating in a fictitious way their operations in microaffiliates located in territories or countries where corporate tax is low or even practically nil. And they have thus turned… – Continue reading
Belgian Tax Authority To Search For Taxpayers Using Foreign Crypto Exchanges
The Belgian Special Tax Inspectorate (STI) is looking for Belgian individuals who have invested in cryptocurrencies in foreign exchanges, local news outlet De Standaard reported Friday, March 2. After receiving information from Finnish authorities that several Belgian taxpayers had been trading on Finnish crypto exchanges, the STI started looking into… – Continue reading
Dutch Tax Administration to tax pensions of Belgian workers working in the Netherlands
Part of the supplementary pension of Belgian workers, previously working in the Netherlands, will be taxed by the Dutch Tax Administration (the “DTA”). The DTA confirmed this on Thursday. The Belgian and Dutch government treasuries are engaged in a tug of war around the second pillar of the pension. This… – Continue reading
Belgian Authorities Raid Bank Linked To Offshore Companies Found In Panama Papers
Belgian police raided the offices of state bank Belfius as part of a probe into possible tax avoidance by companies exposed in the Panama Papers. Belgian police raided the offices of state bank Belfius on Tuesday as part of a probe into possible tax avoidance by companies exposed in the… – Continue reading
South Africa, Belgium, Jersey Extend CbC Reporting Deadlines
South Africa, Jersey, and Belgium are among a handful of territories that have recently announced an extension to the due date for country-by-country reports under the new frameworks being introduced under Action 13 of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan. The CbC report is one element of… – Continue reading
EU summit text on tech tax aims to please both sides
EU leaders have not yet made a clear choice about how to make sure digital companies pay their fair share of taxes. At an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday (19 October), they adopted a text that balances the wishes of two groups of countries – and can be interpreted… – Continue reading
E.U., Citing Amazon and Apple, Tells Nations to Collect Tax
BRUSSELS — European competition regulators on Wednesday mounted a push against tax avoidance by Silicon Valley giants, announcing plans to take Ireland to court for failing to collect back taxes from Apple and ordering Luxembourg to claim unpaid taxes from Amazon. The effort, which comes as the European Union considers… – Continue reading
CIG hopeful of dodging EU’s latest blacklist
(CNS Business): Premier Alden McLaughlin and Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers lobbied EU officials last week in an effort to keep the Cayman Islands off the latest Brussels list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. During the visit to the European capital, the premier said, the delegation found that EU decision makers… – Continue reading
New Dutch Law Leaves Repentant Taxpayers Out in the Cold
The abolition of a scheme allowing Dutch taxpayers to fess up to their tax sins and avoid criminal charges is likely to discourage high-net worth individuals from ever disclosing money hidden abroad to local authorities, practitioners say. Deputy Minister of Finance Eric Wiebes announced that it was time to draw… – Continue reading
Protocol Amending the Mexico-Belgium Tax Treaty Published
On August 17, 2017, the Protocol amending the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fraud and Fiscal Evasion (“Tax Treaty”) between Belgium and Mexico was published in Mexico’s Official Journal of the Federation (Belgium publication pending). The Tax Treaty became effective in Belgium on August… – Continue reading
Half of Belgium’s economic output ends up in tax havens
Companies operating in Belgium sent more than €221 billion to countries local authorities regard as tax havens, according to Belgian daily Le Soir. Belgium’s gross domestic product was €466 billion last year. According to the country’s tax authorities, 853 Belgian companies funneled almost a half of the country’s economic output… – Continue reading
Switzerland, Belgium To Begin Exchanging Tax Info
The Swiss Federal Council has announced that an information exchange amendment to the double tax agreement with Belgium has entered into force. On August 7, the Council said the additional agreement to amend the DTA had entered into force on July 19. It contains an administrative assistance clause in accordance… – Continue reading
Paris wants US corporations to pay fair share of taxes in EU
France wants Brussels to take a tougher stance on American multinationals working inside the European Union (EU) and force them to pay an appropriate amount of tax. “I can tell you that the times we live in are not for the weak,” French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire said in… – Continue reading
Belgium Urged To Undertake Indirect Tax Shift
Belgium should reduce its high corporate income and labor taxes and eliminate value-added tax (VAT) concessions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said in its Article IV report for the country. The report notes that Belgium intends to reduce its high personal income tax and social security contribution rates in… – Continue reading
India, Belgium sign protocol to amend double taxation avoidance agreement
New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) India and Belgium have signed a Protocol to amend the double taxation avoidance agreement to curb tax evasion, an official statement said on Thursday. “India and Belgium have signed a protocol amending the existing agreement and protocol between the two countries for avoidance of double… – Continue reading
Italy’s anti-tax evasion measures start with VAT
Italy’s government intends to use value-added tax (VAT) as the fundamental lever to fight evasion estimated at €40 billion annually, double the average of other European Union countries. The measures being studied (which will not concern an increase in VAT rates, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan has assured) will also… – Continue reading
A Classic Case Of Double Taxation?
The Central Board of Direct Taxes in India issued Circular Number 41 on December 21, 2016 providing clarifications on applicability of ‘indirect transfer’ provisions under the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961 to investors of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) – earlier known as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in India. The circular… – Continue reading
Oxfam: Luxembourg, Ireland, Netherlands among worst tax havens
The NGO’s report exposes the worst offenders in the ‘race to the bottom on corporate tax.’ Luxembourg, Ireland, Cyprus, and the Netherlands are among the world’s 10 worst tax havens, despite an ongoing EU crackdown on tax avoidance and profit shifting across the bloc. The findings come in a report… – Continue reading
McDonald’s to scrap Luxembourg tax structure
Fast-food chain’s reorganisation means £800m from restaurants in Europe will flow through the UK instead McDonald’s is to scrap its controversial Luxembourg tax structure in a corporate shakeup that means $1bn (£800m) of income from fast-food restaurants across Europe will flow through the UK instead. The move comes 12 months… – Continue reading
NETHERLANDS ACCUSED OF MAKING MORE SECRET TAX DEALS WITH GLOBAL BUSINESSES
The Netherlands is still making secret tax deals with multinational companies, according to an European report on which Dutch research foundation SOMO worked. The Netherlands remains one of the ost important countries in Europe when it comes to tax evasion, the report states according to ANP. Last year the Netherlands… – Continue reading
Belize Financial Regulator Warns Against Fraudulent Bitcoin Investment Company
The financial regulator of Central American nation Belize has issued a public warning against XMAXBIT, a company that claims to provide returns for investors by investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Published on Monday, the Office of the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC), Belize’s financial regulator, has warned users against dealing… – Continue reading
Bermuda dodges EU tax-haven blacklist bullet
Bermuda has reportedly avoided being placed on an European Union blacklist after Britain blocked a French-led proposal that would have automatically branded the island a tax haven. Territories with a zero per cent corporate tax rate, such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, would have been denounced as potentially “non-co-operative”… – Continue reading
Anti-terrorism tactics should be applied to tax havens, report says
The same aggressive and uncompromising international effort used to combat terrorism must be employed to eliminate tax havens, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz in a report being released Tuesday. In a copy of the report, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with the Star, Stiglitz… – Continue reading
Multinationals still able to use ‘double Irish’ tax arrangement after 2020
Multinational companies will still be able to use the controversial “double Irish” tax arrangement after the final end date of 2020, Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said. A number of tax experts have confirmed this is the case, though they have disputed whether the terms of which they will… – Continue reading
EU agrees screening process for tax havens, critics cry foul
European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday how to screen countries for a blacklist of tax havens across the world, officials said, and said applying zero-rate taxes was not necessarily a factor, prompting an outcry. The bloc committed in May to agree on a common list of tax offenders by… – Continue reading
EU agrees zero tax rate is not enough to define tax haven: Padoan
European Union finance ministers agreed that countries applying a zero tax rate cannot automatically be considered tax havens, Italy’s finance minister said on Tuesday, a move that may reduce the scope of a EU blacklist of offending jurisdictions. “We have find an agreement on the fact that if a jurisdiction… – Continue reading
German chemicals firm BASF avoided nearly €1bn in tax, says report
Network of foreign subsidiaries reported key to €923 million windfall over five years German chemicals manufacturer BASF has been accused of avoiding close to €1 billion of tax. In a report published on Monday, the company is alleged to have used aggressive tax-planning strategies in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and… – Continue reading
EU Countries Block Use of Rates as Tax Haven Criteria
A “number” of European Union countries are blocking a push to include zero corporate tax rates as criteria for the bloc’s tax haven blacklist, according to Slovakia, which holds the rotating EU presidency. EU members have been unable to reach an agreement on cracking down on offshore structures aimed at… – Continue reading
OECD Reviewing U.S. Handling of Double-Tax Cases
The OECD has started to review how effectively the U.S. and five other countries handle cases in which multinational companies assert double taxation under the mutual agreement procedure of bilateral tax treaties. As part of the review, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is inviting multinationals to answer a… – Continue reading
Brussels aims to harmonise corporate tax by 2021
The European Commission has unveiled its latest plan to harmonise corporate tax. After two past failures, the executive hopes the recent flurry of tax scandals will give the project a new lease of life. The EU has revived its tax crusade with a new attempt to establish a Common Consolidated… – Continue reading
UK could slash corporation tax to 10 pct if EU blocks trade deal in Brexit (Update 1)
Britain could slash corporation tax to 10 percent if the European Union refuses to agree a post-Brexit free trade deal or blocks UK-based banks from accessing its market, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unidentified source. The newspaper said the idea of halving the headline rate from 20 percent had… – Continue reading
